Tourism Continues on the Fast Track in Polk County, Setting Records Year Over Year
Tourism in Polk County is booming. There are an increasing number of sporting activities, new venues and the opening of newer attractions like Bonnet Springs Park. The future looks bright – something well worth celebrating on World Tourism Day, September 27.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, 5,552,500 tourists visited Polk County. This is compared to 5,261,100 visitors the prior year, an increase of 5%, said Mark Jackson, Director of Tourism & Sports at Visit Central Florida.
Visit Central Florida markets Polk County across the country and around the world to attract tourists here. In the last few years, it has grown the sports tourism and culinary segments while touting the county’s many attractions and natural habitats.
Avelo Airlines has also helped the tourism industry here, Jackson said.
“It took many years of building relationships and recruiting efforts to bring a commercial airline to Polk County. It’s hard to believe it has only been a little more than a year since Avelo Airlines celebrated their first flight in Lakeland,” he said. “In what has been one of the biggest tourism stories of the year. Avelo Airline’s growth in Polk County has been extraordinary.”
The airlines, the first commercial passenger service from Lakeland Linder International Airport in over a decade, began flying to New Haven, Connecticut’s Tweed-New Haven Airport. Since then, it’s added nine destinations, including Puerto Rico.
“In addition, Lakeland was designated as an operating base of operations for Avelo, with at least one Boeing 737 stationed here full time, creating local jobs,” Jackson said.
“A critical piece of recruiting Avelo, and their rapid growth in the market, was PCTSM’s (Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing) marketing partnership proposal and subsequent campaigns in each of the destinations Avelo is flying. PCTSM staff traveled to each destination ahead of the routes launching to conduct sales and media missions to further promote Polk County and the new Avelo routes directly into Central Florida. Many of the Avelo markets were already target markets for PCTSM, while some markets are new opportunities.”
Sports Tourism
Sports tourism continues to be strong in Polk County. It’s one reason why Visit Central Florida Sports was honored as the 2025 Sports Tourism Organization of the Year (large markets) at the 2025 Sports ETA Symposium in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“This recognition is more than three decades in the making, as sports tourism has become both a powerful economic driver and a quality-of-life enhancer for Polk County,” said Neal Duncan, Senior Manager of Sports Marketing. “Through continued facility investments, aggressive event recruiting, a commitment to targeting a wide variety of sports segments and recruiting/hosting more than 30 types of sports and special events in 2025, Visit Central Florida Sports has set the standard as the leader in the sports tourism industry.”
For the last three years, sports tourism has generated more than $200 million in local economic impact, fueled by over 300 events countywide, he said.
Partnership-Centered
“One unique strategy that has paid huge dividends over the past several years is PCTSM’s focus on sports partnerships. It’s been utilized as a vehicle to reach further into well-established markets like Michigan (Detroit Tigers, Detroit Red Wings), Ohio (Columbus Blue Jackets) and the United Kingdom (Swansea City Football Club). Also expanding this successful strategy to markets served by Avelo airlines,” Duncan said.
For instance, the PCTSM has a new partnership with the University of Connecticut athletics and the popular minor league baseball team in Hartford, the Yard Goats.
“It started as an effort to reach Detroit Tigers fans on a year-round basis. The marketing partnership included a significant presence at Comerica Park in Detroit, that has grown into a strategy into other key markets as well,” Duncan said. “This strategy will continue into next year and beyond. Our partnership with Swansea City will expand to bring their footprint to Polk County. Their coaches and academies will be hosting camps. Polk County will also serve as their fans’ U.S. home base.”
The sports partnership strategy “continues to allow PCTSM to align with major brands in these markets for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising,” he said. “It also lends instant credibility to our Visit Central Florida brand. It aligns us with what is often the most well-known brand in these markets, their sports teams.”
Legoland Impact
LEGOLAND Florida has had a huge impact on tourism in Polk County, Jackson said.
“What most people don’t remember was that in 2010, Polk County was facing the worst tourism crisis in its history. Cypress Gardens closed its doors for the final time, our largest property, Grenelefe Resort (1,200 rooms), was unexpectedly shuttered and we were still recovering from the Great Recession,” he said. “Polk County was in big trouble.”
A year later, LEGOLAND opened it’s doors and the county recruited RussMatt Baseball, he said. “We were blessed. We also fast-tracked the development of our sports facilities and the recruitment of new accommodations. Combined, these efforts have led to years of unprecedented growth and tourism revenue records for Polk County.”
Since LEGOLAND Florida opened in Winter Haven in October 2011, filling the void left by Cypress Gardens, it has continuously drawn tourists to the area.
“More than 1.5 million people visit the park annually, and that’s a significant number of people and total economic impact,” Jackson said.
LEGOLAND and Visit Central Florida work throughout the year to ensure visitors stay in the area longer, “which in turn increases the total economic impact (spending) in our community,” he said.
Other Attractions
“In addition to LEGOLAND Florida’s continued investment in the park, resort and Polk County, several other attractions have seen major enhancements and growth. They draw visitors and extended stays for those already in market, said Kris Keprios, Senior Tourism Sales and Marketing Manager.
For instance, thousands of people a year also come to the county to visit attractions like Bok Tower Gardens, Westgate River Ranch, Circle B and Safari Wilderness. The 168-acre Bonnet Springs Park (BSP) in Lakeland was recently named the Best City Park in America by USA Today.
“BSP has quickly become a favorite among visitors and adds to Polk County’s outstanding outdoor and nature inventory, in addition to the many special events that BSP runs throughout the year. BSP is also home to the Florida Children’s Museum, which has enjoyed another strong year in attendance,” Keprios said.
Nature also attracts people to the county, he said. “Research tells us that golf, fishing, water sports, nature and related activities rank among the top experiences of visitors.”
Overall, the county benefits from tourism, and the future is bright.
“Tourism growth in Polk County has outpaced our contiguous counties, the state of Florida, and the nation,” Jackson said. “Staying on course by balancing supply and demand is very unique in the tourism industry. It has worked well for Polk County’s tourism industry.”
